More "Reinvention" Discussion

Check out Charles Apple's blog over at VisualEditors.com. There you'll find a long discussion about The Baltimore Sun's "reinvention," with some interesting back-and-forth of opinions.

Also, have you heard of Twitter.com? All the young folks are using it these days. Well, you can search Twitter, which is like sifting through the stream-of-consciousness of the Internet. I searched for the words "Sun redesign," and this is what I found: check out this link.

But Would You Pay For Online Local News?

Thanks for everyone's comments so far, and for voting in the poll about The Baltimore Sun's redesign. It is important that your comments (that is, your compliments and criticisms) get directed to Sun management, so don't just comment on this blog -- register your opinions here.

Otherwise, your comments got me thinking about the next poll question, which is:

Would you pay for online local news (at the Baltimore Sun or wherever)? Vote in the poll to the right.

Right now, we hear lots of anecdotes of people giving up the print edition and just consuming the news online, where it is free.

But we all know nothing is ever free. Harvesting the news costs a lot of money, though the promise of an Internet-only news site means a publisher doesn't have to worry about operating a costly printing press and buying pricey paper and ink by the ton.

Take an imaginary walk with me: Imagine us in the year 2018. Newspapers are gone and have been gone for about five years and 2/3 of U.S. adults are reading the news on their iPhone 12G networked phone. You're scouring the Internet for local news and you're also looking more stories about the still-ongoing war in Iraq beyond the one Associated Press article that is informing the world that day. But you're frustrated: In a world where news and information is free and a serious business model for serious journalism hasn't been worked out, you're finding that you just can't find hard facts that you trust about the news of the day.

So would you pay for an online subscription to get a little better coverage and more distinctive, original reporting? Or would you be happy with the free information that leaves you still hungry for more at the end of the day?

Vote in the poll in the right column, but let's discuss amongst ourselves in the comments below.

P.S. Full disclosure: In addition to our Sun print subscription, my wife and I pay for an online-only subscription to the Wall Street Journal, whose Website is chock full of goodies every day.

Reader feedback

Hi.

If you're a loyal Sun reader, a casual Sun reader, or a "I'll never read The Sun Again" reader, please take a minute to vote in the poll on the right side of this blog.

Sure it's informal and unscientific. But we're curious to see what people think about the new look of The Sun under it's "reinvention."

One big change: we're now called The Baltimore Sun. Check out our new front page and compare it to an old copy from last week -- or go back further, say, a copy from 173 years ago -- to note the difference.

We'd like to post another poll soon that pertains to the new Baltimore Sun. But this time, I'd like to see some reader input on what you're all curious about learning in such a poll. So...Submit your poll question ideas in the comments section below. Thanks!

P.S. You can submit your opinions on the "reinvention" at the Baltimore Sun's official promotional website for the new-looking newspaper here. Please -- I implore you to do so. However, also vote on this site because it's not yet clear whether Sun management will disclose the reader feedback they've been receiving. For all of us, I hope they do.